Jumping toy



o. P. SPILMAN JUMPING TOY June 16, 1925. 1,542,012

Filed April 5, 1923 INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY ailman I Patented June 16, 1925 UNITED STATES OLIVER P. SP'ILMAN,

or HOUSTON, rnxAs.

J'UMPING "roY.

Application filed April 3,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. SPIPMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Jumping Toys, of whlch the following is a specification. The present invention relates to a pimping toy which may be. shaped and colored to represent a frog or other quadruped, and which may be=used by itself as a toy,or in connection with other pieces to constitute a game. i i I a The object of the invention is to provide a toy of this type 'withmeans by which the animal may bemanually actuated to perform one or more jumps of indeterminate length, at the same time turning asomersault.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in'connection with such a toy, a number of flat pieces or discs which may represent pools of water and which are adapted to be arranged at variouspomts on a surface to beplayed upon so that the animal, by a succession of somersaults, may be caused to progress successively from one disc to another. Thus, the number'of jumps or somersaults necessary to progress from one disc or pool to another will depend upon the skill of the player. The game may be played upon a table or any other surface with the discs or pools at various places and numbered to indicate "the order in which they are to be played. A certain number may be designated aspar for a given hole in the same manner as in golf.

The invention will be best understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which represents the preferred form of the invention.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dining room table on which thepieces are arranged for playing.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the jumping toys in the form'of a frog.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of p the same.

' Fig. 4; is a plan view thereof with a portion of the body broken away to show the played. Of course, any desired number 1923. Serial No. 629,599.

is employed to adjust the inertia of the spring.

The Hat pieces or discs which may be used either to represent pools of water, or holes in a golf course, are preferablynumbered numerically from 1 to 6, inclusive, as indicated in Fig. 1 to represent the order of succession in which the holes are to be of be discs may be used and the game may playedfiupon a table represented as 7, upon any other surface either plain curved, as desired. r "The jumping toy which maybe used in connection with the game ormay be made and sold separately as a jumping toy, comprises a rectangular base black 8 preferably of wood and surrounded by a shell 9 which issecured thereto and shaped and colored to represent a frog or other animal. The block 8 is provided with a vertical slot 10 in which is secured. the lower end of a flat steel spring 11 which extends upwardly from the base block through an opening 12 in the back of the animal, and is preferably curved rearwardly as shown at 13.

When the rear end of the spring is depressed, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2

and 3, and then suddenly released, the tension of the spring and its'inertia will cause it to rebound and impart a turning movement to the frog, causing it under certain conditions to turn a somersault. It is preferableto provide a weight 14 for the upper end of the spring 11 to be slidably secured thereto in order to increase the inertia thereof sufficiently to facilitate the progress ofthe frog. This weight 14 may be adjusted longitudinally ofthe spring to the position which-theplayer finds by experience to givethe best results. The proper movement of the frog willbe determined,of course, by the amount of pressure exerted on the spring and the manner in which it is released, and will depend almost wholly upon the skill of the player.

The par for each hole or pool may be arbitrarily fixed in accordance with previous experience, and depending upon the distance between the respective pools. The pools may be formed of circular pieces of stiif paper preferably about four inches indiameter or slightly greater than the longest dimension of the frog.

Inplaying the game, as many frogs will be used as there are players and each player in turn will endeavor to cause the frog to advance by a succession of somcrsaults from one pool to the next. In case the frog fails to alight right side up after executing a somersault, the contestant responsible therefor must go back to the starting place and start anew.

The frog or other animal is preferably made with a wooden base block and a shell of tin, papier mzich, celluloid or other suitable material.

While I have shown and described the preferred'form of the invention and the various waysin which it may be used, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that modifications may be made in the structure thereof, and various other ways may be devised for using the invention, all of which fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A game comprising a plurality of pieces adapted to be arranged in spaced relation on a surface to be played upon, and a toy comprising a body with a flat under surface, and a leaf spring extending upwardly from the body and having one end anchored in the body and its other end free andoperable by the sudden release of pressure previously imposed thereon to propel the toy from one of said pieces in the direction of another piece by a series of indeterminate jumps. I

A game comprising a plurality of flat pieces adapted to be placed on a surface to be played upon to represent pools of alter, and a toy representing a frog with a body having a. flat under surface on which it normally rests, and a leaf spring extending upwardly from the body with one end anchored in the body and the other end free, the tension and inertia of the spring when compressed and suddenly released being operable to propel the toy in forward direction.

A toy formed to simulate a q-uadruped with a body having a flat under surface on which it normally rests, a leaf spring extending upwardly from said body with its upper end bent rearwardly, the lower end of the spring being anchored in the body, and the other end being free and operable by the sudden release of pressure previously imposed thereon to cause the quadruped to turn a somersault.

4. A toy formed with a body having a flat under surface, a leaf spring having one end anchored in the body and extending upwardly therefrom, the other end of the spring being free, the tension and inertia of the spring when compressed and suddenly released. being operable to cause the toy to turn a somersault, and weight on said spring near its free end to increase the inertia thereof.

5. A toy formed to simulate a quadruped and having a fiat under surface, an upwardly extending leaf spring anchored in the body, and a weight slidably adjustable longitudinally of the spring to vary its enertia, and adapted when compressed and suddenly released to cause the quadruped to turn a somersault, said weight being light compared with the body, so that the quadr-uped will normally come to rest with the fiat surface underneath.

6. A toy comprising a rectangular block, a hollow body secured to and coveringsaid block and shaped and colored to simulate an animal, the covering being so disposed with relation to the block that one of the largest rectangular faces of the bloclrforms the under side of the toy, a leaf spring having one end anchored in the block and extending upwardly therefrom through said covering, and operable when compressed and suddenly released to cause the quadruped to turn a somersault.

7. A toy comprising a base block, a hollow shell secured to and covering said shell and shaped and colored .to simulate an animal, a leaf spring having oneend anchored in the block and extending upwardly and rearwardly through said covering, and having a weight slidably adjustable longitudinally of its free end portion, said weight being lighter than the block.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature.

OLIVER P. SPILMAN. 

